Spring Fling MADNESS!

So our Young Women's Spring Fling is finally done! There was so much stress involved with getting this activity off the ground and I am glad it all worked out and it is now over. Believe me, I was so ready to throw in the towel and do something different this year but Jessica wouldn't let me.

We ran into building scheduling conflicts - made worse with the closing of our Stake Center for renovations which just made our building unattainable. Not to mention the various Stake activities that were popping up everywhere.

We went with the Luau theme this year. The menu: pulled pork, rice, salad, chop suey and fresh fruit. It was delicious! Angie even provided fresh pineapple from Hawaii!

We had the regular fundraising activities; the dinner, cake auction, silent auction and bake sale. We wanted to add a little entertainment as well so we had the girls learn a Polynesian dance to perform for everyone. They did great and had a fun time at it!

There were some cake auction highlights too.

At one point we had someone on their cell phone bidding for a friend who had to work - it was for a very desired chocolate cake with Reese's Peanut Butter cups on it.

Then the bidding was on for an Apple Crumble cake made by Brian Barker..to be made fresh when wanted served up with vanilla ice cream. Chris started bidding and Aaron kept countering. As they were reaching $75, I was about to have a heart attack! Once it went over $100, I looked at him with such pleading eyes and asked him to please stop bidding....got some laughs on that one. At $105, Chris yells at Aaron, "Are you serious?" And Aaron just said,"It's good cake!" At that point Aaron suggested that they split it and that we will share the cake when it is made. PHEW! Hey, I know it was for a good cause - but don't overstress the pregnant lady!

A big thanks goes out to everyone who supported the young women. We raised enough for all of them to attend Wilderness camp this year!

Happy Mother's Day!

This Mother's Day was wonderful for me! First, we were in Cedar over the weekend so the girls and I were able to go to Sacrament meeting with my parents. Victoria & Christianna were a bit sad that they would not be singing with their Primary back home. Mom talked with the Primary Song leader there and the girls were able to sing with their Primary! It was so sweet. Each child was given a pretty rose to hold while they sang and then they each gave them to their Mothers when they were done. Victoria gave hers to Mom...such a sweetheart!

After Sacrament, we headed home. My goal was to be home in time for dinner. We actually beat Chris home from church. He was so cute! He had this huge smile on his face and said,"I just can't wait!" He then opened the microwave to show me his masterpiece.

He then critiqued his work - but I thought it was fantastic! He even made the frosting for it - which was no small task since he had to find the recipe first and it turns out that it was not labeled as to what it was. It was just a scrap of paper with the ingredient list...not instructions as to what you do with them! So typical of me!! ha ha

I really didn't take a bite out of it....

...but I did accidentally get frosting on me.

Not sure were Victoria was and I am kinda sad that she wasn't in the picture!

All in all, we had a good dinner and dessert and I was able to spend it with my family.

What more could I ask for?

Skate Party

The girl's pediatric Dentist office has yearly parties for their patients. For the first time in the years we have been going there, we were actually able to attend one. It was so much fun and it was fantastic that we could all actually go! It was down at Classic Skating in Sandy.

The first thing we did was hit the bounce house area. The girls were getting so worn out - it was GREAT!

Right after Christianna went over this, she immediately fell out of sight!

This one was fun. Chris even had to try it out. There was a timer so you could race someone through the maze.

We then had a little family pow wow to decide what to do next...

...the vote was to skate!

Chris isn't much into skating but I personally love it. I first let the girls just go out by themselves. Victoria remembered it pretty well, but Christianna was struggling a bit. So I did what any mom would do and got skates too so I could go around with her for awhile.

I was a little weary of falling and needing assistance to get my butt up off the floor. But I survived and DIDN"T fall at all.

Christianna soon got the knack of it and then I could sit and relax with my love...who happens to look like he is in pain or crying. He wasn't - remember, he was having a good time.

After skating for awhile, we headed to our final destination: The Blast Zone.

Pretty much, you collect little foam balls and shoot them at anything that moves. Good times!

There was a huge slide in there too. You can kinda see Christianna (toward the top in pink), Victoria (just below her sister), and Chris (by the target sign). They all climbed up to go down together as our big finale to our fun day.

I thought it was super adorable!

Ready....set....

...GO!!!

We are looking forward to the next party for sure!

Snow???

I may be the only one in Utah to say this....but:

Bring on the snow!!!!!

You see, the longer this colder weather holds out, the less likely I am to spend 2+ months swelling up like a behemoth balloon. SERIOUSLY!

With Victoria, who was born at the end of May, I had so much water retention that I had cankles people! Luckily I didn't get toxemia...but I was getting dangerously close to it...blech!

So I say to Ms. Mother Nature...Let it snow, let it snow, LET IT SNOW!!!!

See...even Minnie likes it. HAH!

(What are the odds of a little snow in June, I wonder?)

What a fun day! I was able to go along with Christianna's 1st Grade class on their field trip to Red Butte Gardens. The class was split into 2 groups, so I spent the morning with half of them. It was really nice having a guide too. She taught the kids all about plants and their parts. It was funny all the things I had forgotten!

They each got little magnifying glasses so they could really check out the different plant parts.

I love going to the gardens. It was nice to spend some time with Christianna too. Not sure how many more field trips I will be able to go on after the baby comes - so I was grateful for the opportunity.

Victoria's 2nd Quilt

Victoria just blows my mind!

Before I left, I showed Mom the colors I was doing in the baby's room. Victoria then looked through different patterns and then got my opinion as to the one I liked best.

She then spent the entire weekend, while Chris & I were in Vegas for the race, sewing away. She pretty much worked on it for 3 days straight and didn't want to do much of anything else - which left Christianna bored on more than one occasion!

When we got back, I asked if she got her homework finished and she gave me that "uh oh.." look. The conversation went something like this:

Mom: "Did you get all your homework done?"

Victoria: "Ummmm....no....but I just wanted to keep sewing the quilt!"

Grandma: "I understand honey (because many things are put aside when she is quilting)...but you should have been honest with me."

So a little honesty lesson was inserted here - but it was understood how badly she wanted to finish the quilt before we got back! She just loves to quilt!

She finished her homework - she did have most of it done though.

Then we got a picture of her passion!

I so love it!!!
All that is left is the back and we are hoping to have her spend time at Grandma's in June so she can get it all finished.

Christianna's Photos

The day Chris & I returned from Vegas, Christianna had my camera and went about my parents home taking tons of pictures. (Sorry, not extreme close-ups of runny dog noses this time.) I am sharing some of my favorites. I think we have a little photographer in the making here!

This is a dormant wasps nest in a barrel.

A dead bug????

The back window of the van with the team number for the Baker to Vegas Relay Run. (The reason we were in Vegas.)


Cambria - tech. my brother's dog...but he left him here with my parents when he moved out.

That would be the mama.

Their other dog - the jealous one...Sadie.

The following were obviously not taken by Christianna...but I thought I would share a little glimpse into the personality of the photographer so I included them!